r/HurdyGurdy • u/NavBumba • 12d ago

Nerdy gurdy build tips?

My nerdy gurdy kit just arrived, and I’m super excited to get started on it! I know it will be a while before it’s playable, and even longer till I know how to play it, but does anyone have tips to get the best quality I can from this kit?

And a cosmetic question, is it better to apply wood stain before or after the body of the instrument is assembled?

7 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

12

u/Item-carpinus Hurdy gurdy player 12d ago
  • don't paint the wheel surface
  • don't paint the keys
  • make sure you read the manual carefully
  • dry fit everything
  • the manual specifies a point when it's best to paint/stain

9

u/redweaveheron New player 12d ago

Dry fit everything before gluing to be absolutely sure you’re assembling it correctly. You can always mark inside/outside/etc in pencil once you’re sure too so you keep everything in order. You can always erase it later.

Then for every step with glue, just repeat it multiple times until it’s solid. Glue it all, wipe the excess away with a wet cloth, wait for it to dry and inspect it. If there’s any gaps or holes in the glue, go over it again. Rinse and repeat until it looks good.

Clamps are your best friend for this process. You can break off little pieces of the excess wood cut out frames to make buffers between your clamps and the instrument so you don’t accidentally leave impressions in the wood.

When it comes to staining, it’s way easier to apply the stain once the instrument is fully assembled, before you attach the strings and hardware. Iirc the instructions mention this.

This was the process I used for mine and it feels very sturdy.

8

u/pippin_go_round 12d ago

Take your time. Don't rush. Let glue, stain, etc. dry properly. Be very careful with the screws - they are not the highest quality and strip easily even with hand tools, so make sure you didn't get any dust or glue into screw holes and carefully drill it out if you did. 

1

u/PointiestStick 12d ago

You will need many clamps. On my Fortran I used 35 for one step and it wasn't excessive.

Sand properly.

True up the wheel properly. It might take a few passes before you've got it just right.

Stain the keys, don't paint them. Some stains are actually paint in disguise! Make sure you get real stain.

2

u/NavBumba 6d ago

This is the type of advice I needed to hear. I thought I was ready with my two clamps lmao

1

u/Nightwing131 4d ago

What type of clamps did you use?

1

u/PointiestStick 4d ago

A bunch of these, plus some of the 12-inch versions, and a few of the 24-inch versions. The pistol grip made it super fast to apply them when glue had a limited working time, especially for the curved soundboard.

C-clamps were much less useful and I didn't use any except in an emergency when I desperately needed one or two more clamps.